Scam is a global issue even before crypto, I think some is just saying that crypto is all scam since it's done in the internet. And as we all know scam normally happened using the internet thus, most people think it's scam. I think whether it's crypto or not, scam is inevitable because scammers just can't get off their hands to easy money.
Those other means of scamming you talked about, which I agree with you that it had been in existence and happening globally before the invention of cryptocurrency is not so easy to get away with like cryptocurrency scam, I have never for once heard that crypto scammer got apprehended, it is so easy for them to walk away freely, your friend could even be the scammer and you may never know for life.
Something just had to be done about this really, before the smaller countries starts using it to accumulate the wealth of bigger countries through their citizens, its possible.